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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · game · prune · squash · can · cap · wind · arm

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cap — a lid
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cap — of ice
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. squash — to crush
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. can — to be able to
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com